Never Again
by Snivilis
Summary: Sometimes we have to fight for the things we want. Sometimes we have to fight for our sanity. And sometimes, just sometimes, we have to depend on others to put the pieces back together.Whether we do any of those things, however, is our own choice.Revision
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings are always

**Disclamer:** I do not own anything but imagination and the freedom to use it.

**Author's notes:** This is the first chapter revised. Be nice, and don't take any of the out-side characters at face value.

**Chapter 1: "The Beginning is Always, if Nothing Else, New."**

The view Harry was facing was beautiful and yet terrifying. It was the view of the train that would take him back home, to Hogwarts, that he found beautiful. The terrifying part were the people. Between him and the train was a crowd of people and he didn't know if he'd be able to go through it without going into a fit. Squaring his jaw, he took a step towards the desirable direction and then another, slowly turning it into steady walking.

People were rushing around him, students trying to get on the train and their parents helping them. Harry was glad they were careful enough not to bump into him but his luck did not last long. A shoulder connected with his and he jumped backwards, crashing into a different person which jerked him forward again into his trolley.

Harry froze in place, waiting for his heart to calm down, murmuring to himself that it was all an accident. Hedwig, obviously worried, tried to nip his hand to calm him down, but it was further than she could reach through the bars. The idea, never the less, reached her master and slowly he calmed down, before once again moving towards the machine.

Away from the crowd in the compartment at the end of the train, where he and his friends usually sat, Harry could breathe again. It disturbed him a bit that he was not as collected when in the crowd as he wished. He had a reason for that, but he did not consider it a good enough reason for him, a person that had faced Voldemort several times and come out alive, to be so spooked by being touched unexpectedly.

The train hadn't started moving yet, but the door to his compartment was beginning to open. Harry becamecurious. Ron and Hermione were in the prefects' compartment and wouldn't be here for a while. After a moment's thought, he decided it had to beNeville or Ginny. By then the door was open and he was proven wrong. It wasn't Neville or Ginny. In fact, Harry was pretty sure he would have remembered if he had ever seen the person standing casually in the doorway.

He looked much taller than Harry, his posture straight and unmoving. What made Harry sure he would have remembered him was the long, dark green, almost black hair that was obviously tightly pulled back, and the golden eyes piercing his.

"Mind if I sit here?" asked the person, and before Harry had the chance to answer, he was walking in and pulling his trunk behind him. Harry's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to tell him off for being very rude, when the person turned to face him and extended his hand.

"Dimitree Zahariev". he said and Harry noticed the strong accent accompanying the unusual name. Harry didn't answer or reach over to take his hand, but stared at him, his eyes still narrowed. Dimitree's mouth curled up and he turned around towards his trunk. Harry was a bit amazed at the ease with which he picked it up and set his trunk above their heads. Dimitree turned and Harry was happy to note that his amazement was well hidden.

Golden bore into green yet again and Harry fidgeted. Dimitree sprawled on the seat across from him and Harry knew that there was something about this person that he really did not understand or like.

"So, aren't you going to tell me?" asked the accented voice and Harry froze, raking his brain for what exactly he was talking about. "Your name." Clarified the boy and the British wizard couldn't help but sneer.

"No!" He didn't like him. He didn't know why, but the arrogance that came off of him made Harry want to gag. Actually, he considered, he knew exactly why: it was the same arrogance that Malfoy dripped everywhere he went.

Dimitree's mouth fully curled into a smile and Harry wanted to growl. At the first movement the train made, Harry shifted his attention to the window on his right. The decision to ignore the arrogant ponce made him happy and he gave his full attention to the window.

It wasn't long before Harry got bored looking outside and he turned to Hedwig instead. She nipped his finger affectionately and returned to looking outside. Harry felt flustered. There wasn't much one could do to ignore a person in the same compartment as them if one didn't want to look at them. Finally, Harry glanced offhandedly towards the other boy and felt a bit disappointed. Dimitree was reading a book, obviously not bothered at all that Harry was ignoring him. Curiosity took over and he tried reading the title of the boo,k but it did not make much sense to him. He recognized some of the letters but was sure that several did not exist in any form of English. Harry shook his head, hoping that it might somehow make the letters make a bit more sense, but alas they did not.

"It's Bulgarian," said Dimitree as a way of explanation. "It says 'Curses of the Century'. It's rather boring, actually." One of Harry's eyebrows went up.

"Then why are you reading it?" he asked, trying his best to sound like he did not care for the answer, but failing horribly.

"Well," started Dimitree while putting his book to the side, "I was bored, you were ignoring my existence, and I thought that it might catch your attention." The smirk on the end of that sentence was unmistakable. Harry had fallen for it. Instead of feeling mad, however, he felt amused. People wanted his attention after they knew his name, not before that.

Before Harry could say anything, there was a racket outside their door and it slamming back, it revealed none other than Malfoy. His eyes swept over them and seemed to narrow when they spotted Dimitree. Harry decided to deal with him before he started insulting the foreign boy.

"Have you finished pestering the first years already, Malfoy?" The silver eyes turned on him. "Or did you decide to skip the snack and just move onto the entree?" Malfoy sneered.

"I am surprised you even know what the word entree means." The arrogance of a rich little boy dripped off of every syllable like thick goo. _'About as disgusting.' _Went through Harry's head "As a matter of fact, I am here to pick up my cousin." his gaze shifted back on Dimitree and Harry's eyes widened. "Well?" came Malfoy's voice again and Harry turned to stare at the boy sitting across from him, his eyes showing his betrayal.

"I think I'll pass, thank you." Said Dimitree. "The company and conversation here are much more interesting and intelligent than anything I could hope to hear from you or your cronies." Harry gasped. This was a turn of events he had not expected. At that moment, said cronies filed in behind Malfoy, with confusion across their faces. They were obviously having trouble deciphering what was being said. Malfoy, however, did not have that problem. He had become as red as, Harry thought, only Ron ever did. His eyes were murderous.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, but I refuse to talk about rabid weasels and filthy mudbloods!" said Malfoy and with that was gone, taking his thugs with him. Dimitree, however, seemed a bit confused.

"What was he talking about?"he asked and Harry sighed.

"That would be us." Came a soft voice from the doorway and Harry saw Hermione, her eyes resigned, and Ron, who looked ready to kill. Glancing back at Dimitree, he realized that the confusion was still there.

"These are my friends Ron Weasely and Hermione Granger." The confusion seemed to disappear a bit, but there was still some left. Hermione beat Harry to the explanation.

"I am a muggleborn." In a moment the confusion was replaced by anger and he stood up, hurrying out and in the direction Malfoy had disappeared in. Right before he disappeared, however, the trio heard a murmur containing the words "Malfoy" and "unforgivables". Ron stared at the place were Dimitree had just been sitting, his face no longer red, and Hermione had a small smile on her face. Once over his shock, Ron opened his mouth to ask about the identity of the fury that had just gone past them, when Harry interrupted.

"His name is Dimitree Zahariev." He said the last name slowly, hoping that he had said it right. At the name, Hermione brightened.

"He is from Bulgaria." She explained to the questioning gazes. "The Zahariev are one of the most powerful families in Europe. I wonder what he is doing here though." She sat where Dimitree had been sitting moments earlier. Picking up his book, she looked at the title. After a moment she nodded and set it beside her, seeming to the two boys, as if she knew exactly what it was.

One look at Ron told Harry that he should probably stay out of the oncoming conversation. Ron's face was a shade of red that could only be described as anger. The hatred that the red headed boy had for the Bulgarian visitor in their fourth year had never really left him. Harry backed up in his seat. Hermione, however, seemed to catch onto Ron's emotional condition and wasn't particularly impressed.

"Don't be silly, Ronald, I did a research on Bulgaria when Victor was here two years ago." It seemed like that made some of the red anger disappear, but Harry was still tense, waiting for the inescapable 'KABOOM'. That however never happened. Instead, Ron sat beside Hermione keeping his mouth shut. Harry felt like he might get a heart attack. A miracle had happened and he was right there, able to witness it.


	2. Chapter 2: Train rides are nicemostly

**Chapter 2: "Train rides are fun...mostly"**

Draco couldn't believe it. Not only did his cousin insult him, but he did it in front of his worst enemy. He could feel his face flush with rage. The Griffindork would most likely get a bigger head now. He knew this would have happened. He had warned his father that proposing his cousin come to Hogwarts was a big mistake but the man had not believed him. Then he was send to Azkaban and Draco had tried speaking to his mother, but the same answer had been given. Draco know that he would suffer the most from that decision.

Reaching his compartment he sulkily flopped on one of the seats. Crabbe and Goyle were just about to sit too when the door flew open again. Everyone turned their eyes to the new comer and some felt fear creeping up their spines.

"Out, all of you." came the command and everyone, but Draco, scrambled to obey. They all had met Dimitree when they were kids and they all knew that if you did not follow Dimitree's orders, bad things happened. Dimitree and his family were the boogie men to the old pureblood families and they were never spoken about in casual conversation.

Draco had to admit that his cousin looked a bit frightening with his hair spread over his shoulders and his eyes practically sending out sparks. He, however, knew Dimitree better than the rest and knew that that was al for show. If he was really enraged, he would have just hexed him without bothering to ask people to get out. The wizard, however, was great at manipulation people with few words and the skill was something Draco greatly envied.

Once everyone was gone, Dimitree smoothed out his hair and gracefully sat across from his cousin, without saying anything. Draco snapped to attention right away. He knew that look in his eyes and that posture. Dimitree was, in not enraged, quite a bit frustrated.

"Did you really had to prove your family's idiocy?!" The voice was calm and a bit too quiet, making sure that a person had to pay attention to hear him. The pause that followed was not long enough for Draco to respond. "I understand your family's desire to humiliate themselves by insulting others' parentage to their friends, but I would have thought by now, you would have learned that babbling infamous believes and slang will close more doors than open any."

Draco was confused. He understood what Dimitree was insinuating but the fact that Dimitree and his family were supposed to be neutral and refused to choose sides made the statement more confusing than it probably was.

When Draco had seen his cousin with Potter, he had, naturally, assumed that a side had finally been chosen and it wasn't the desired one. At these words, however, he was claiming a different side. To Draco's disgust, this was all a game, as far as his cousin was concerned.

"And what exactly were **you** hoping to gain by talking to Potter?" Dimitree held a satisfied smirk and Draco heard warning in the back of his head.

"His friendship, of course. Just like **you **failed to do." The shock that Draco felt at those words was plain on his face. "Did you **really**think that I would agree to come to your school and will not befriend all of the important people here, especially your enemies?!" It was not a questions as much as a statement.

"How did you..." Finally, Draco was able to let the foremost question on his mind out, if not particularly articulate. Dimitree snorted and examined his nails.

"Please, if I didn't have ways to get every information I wanted, I wouldn't be a Zahariev, now would I?" Draco was more enraged than he had ever been at his cousin and there was only one course for that. Revenge. He would die before he let his cousin befriend his enemy. If he wasn't able to do in those years ago, then neither should Dimitree.

"Stay away from Potter!" Draco's voice was low and menacing. If looks could kill, Dimitree would be dead twice over. Dimitree, however, did not seem moved at all. Yellow bore into silver.

"You do not actually expect me to just step aside without a fight do you?" The voice was sly, the words heavy with his accent. Draco hated hearing this voice. Everything he had was always taken away from him by the person owning the voice. His hands were in fists and he was trying hard not to draw his wand.

"This time you will not win! This time I will get what I want and not you, or anyone else, will stand in my way!" The Bulgarian's eyes filled with mirth.

"Be careful, dear cousin. The line you are treading is very thin. You might find yourself in a situation..." his voice paused, obviously for emphasis and not lack of vocabulary. Draco waited for the rest of the sentence, his fists shaking, knowing full well that it was meant to bring a rise from him. Finally the blow was dealt and it was a perfect strike."...Not accepted by your relations."

"So, how was your summer?" asked Hermione after the long pause that had followed her words to Ron.

"Fine." said Harry with weariness. In fact, his summer hadn't been fine at all.

His uncle had locked him in his room half way through the summer, for being abnormal. He had been starved for a week, not allowed neither water nor restroom, which had resulted in several jars full of piss. The dehydration and malnutrition that he usually went through was nothing compared to now. By the time the week was over, Harry did not feel strong enough to even move. That is when the beatings had started.

Until this summer, all that he had received in the form of physical abuse from his uncle had been a punch or two. This time, however, he had ripped his shirt off, punched and kicked more than once. There were no broken bones, for which Harry was glad, and his face was undamaged, most likely so it would not be obvious he was beaten. The skin on his back and front, however, had been cut several times from his uncle's rings and the belt he had started using half way through. Harry had gone into unconsciousness from his weakened body and the pain and didn't come out of it until the next day at which point his aunt had left him a piece of bread and a bowl of water beside his bed. She had shaken her head when he had looked at her and told him that he deserved it, for not being refusing to be normal. Of course, he refused to believe her it was a stupid idea.

Four days later, he had gotten a beating once more, his old wounds not yet healed we opened once again, his body black and blue. Now, he had scars over his whole back and chest. Harry had spend many hours learning how to dress without showing any skin.

After the third beating, Harry had started thinking that maybe they were right. If not for him, Cedric would be alive, his godfather would be alive, hell, his **parents** would be alive. Now, however, they were all dead and Harry had nowhere to go, so maybe he **had** caused this on himself. He knew that everyone he mentioned it would have said it wasn't his fault and knew that part of that thinking had been the starvation and hallucination, but part of him still believed it. The other part of him agreed only because he felt it was his punishment for not being able to protect himself.

When Hermione had asked him about his summer he had remembered all of the 'wonderful' times he had had with the Dursleys. It had cost him a great deal not to explode and go into a rant. He knew the way they would react and knew that he could not stand to see the pity in their eyes. It was his own fault and he was going to deal with it himself.

As it turned out, Hermione had noticed the strange note in his voice but had assumed that it was because of their almost none existent letters because she started apologizing profusely and Ron even gave him a few 'sorry mate's in between.

Before the apologizing and explanations had gotten too out of hand, Harry was glad for the distraction of Dimitree coming back in. He had a secretive smile on his face and looked very pleased with himself. Moving in he bowed to Hermione, extending his hand.

"I am sorry to have run out on you like that. My name is Dimitree Zahariev." Hermione blushed and took his hand, which he turned over and kissed.

"Hermione Granger." came Hermione's squeak and Dimitree moved onto Ron who, Harry noted, was back to his 'tomato-red' state. Dimitree extended his hand, without bowing, and after a few moments, of Ron not responding, he turned around and sat beside Harry.

"So, Hermione," started Dimitree, Ron's reaction obviously not bothering him, "what do your parents do?" Hermione blushed a deeper shade of pink. There weren't many in Hogwarts that cared what her parents did, after they learned her parents were Muggle. No one cared, really, and it made Hermione a bit sad.

"They are dentists." She muttered, expecting the usual question for an explanation.

"Respectable jobs." Nodded Dimitree and Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.

"You know what that is?" Dimitree huffed in response, his voice a bit hurt.

"Of course. I might be from an old wizard family, but that doesn't mean I am illiterate." Hermione blushed again and muttered a 'sorry'. Harry winced. He had kept an eye on Ron since Dimitree's come in and with every word Ron had gotten more and more red. Harry felt it was time to intervene.

"I am going to find the snack lady. Dimitree, wanna come with?" Harry didn't wait for an answer but just dragged Dimitree out of the room by the elbow. Once outside, he straightened and rested his back to the closed door. A moment later there were yells coming from the other side of the door. Dimitree looked a bit lost as to what had just happened, but Harry once more grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him away form the compartment containing an enraged red head.

"Do you know what just happened?" Harry asked Dimitree once they were far enough from the compartment that no screaming fits were heard.

"I thought I had treated one of your friends the way she deserves and the other one I taught a valuable lesson about females." Harry stared. That was **definitely **not the response he expected. It was, in fact, very further from what he expected. "You disapprove?" Asked the Bulgarian after a minute, his voice the epitome of innocence. Harry wasn't particularly sure if that was supposed to be a joke, or not. Before he could answer, the snack lady, that had apparently been heading their way, interrupted them.

"Anything off the trolley dears?" Harry was about to answer, when a thought struck him. This wasn't the snack lady that had approached them the years before. She looked nothing like her, and was, in fact, younger. Her voice was very high pitched and seemed a bit squeaky. With her round face and figure, the voice didn't seem to suit her at all.

"What happened to the other lady?" He asked while picking up several chocolate frogs and sugar quills and searching for his money in the big pockets of what used to be Dudley's trousers. The lady seemed to stiffen and Harry stopped his search to stare at her. That was an odd reaction and she seemed to catch on that because her explanation was hurried and not very understandable.

"She past away two months ago." Then, hurriedly asked, "Anything else?" while grabbing the money off Harry's hands and without waiting for an answer, she pushed the cart past them with force, that did not seem possible to be coming from a little plump woman. The other students coming their way were pushed aside rudely and when they tried to stop her to buy food, she ignored them and continued on. After there were several compartments between them, she stopped and started to once again take care of her customers.

Harry stared after her. There was definitely something wrong with the woman. His thought could not get far, however, because someone hit him from behind and he stumbled forward. Panic grabbed his body and he turned around with his wand out. A glance of blond hair and then the person had disappeared in the compartment beside him, the door closed in Harry's face and the blinds shut.

"If your train rides are always this interesting, I imagine your school will be fascinating, if a bit dangerous." There was amusement in Dimitree's voice and Harry wasn't sure why. There was something peculiar about the boy, and Harry knew, it wasn't only the hair and eyes. He had been nice, so far, so he didn't see a reason not to be nice back.

"So, why is your hair green?" Asked Harry, deciding that there was a need for a topic change. Dimitree's lips curled and Harry was reminded of a version of Malfoy's smirks. Malfoy's facial expression, thought, seemed to look pale, before this one. Dimitree's lips had barely moved but he looked dangerous. A shiver ran up Harry's spine.

"Lets just say that Draco is good, but I am **better." **Then, with no pause in between, his smirk changed into a pleasant smile and he asked, "Are we safe to go back now, or would he still be raging?" Harry didn't think he had ever met anyone as confusing as Dimitree.

"It should be safe." He said and they headed back towards their compartment. On the way there, he glanced several times towards Dimitree, his confusion seeming to take a permanent place in his mind. One minute, Dimitree was nice and seemed like the every day guy. The next he was as snobby as Malfoy, and yet, the next he was as scary as the Weasely twins planning a horrible prank on Filch.

Reaching their compartment door, Harry paused. There were no longer any yells coming out. In fact, there was no noise. Harry reached to open the door, but right before his hand reached the handle, the door opened by itself.

"Good, you're here." She said, hastily backing out. "We need to do rounds and we didn't want to leave your things unattended." Ron was sulking in his seat. Harry sat down across Ron, noting the smile Hermione send Dimitree, and extended a hand with a chocolate frog to Ron. Looking up, his friend brightened up and took the chocolate.

"Sorry, mate, duty calls." Without looking at Dimitree, Ron said goodbye to Harry and disappeared out the door. Hermione glanced at Harry, mouthed a sorry and disappeared after, what Harry was convinced, was now her boyfriend.

"Ron has a short temper." Murmured Harry and heard a snort from the Bulgarian.

"You could say that." Laughed Dimitree and then moved from his seat beside Harry, back to his original seat, across from him. "So, what should I expect from Hogwarts?" He sounded interested and Harry decided that he might play what interested and maybe get some answers out of him.

"Many things." Harry stated and then, off handedly, asked "So, why are you here?" He winced at the way his question sounded out loud. Dimitree, however, ignored his question and instead addressed his answer.

"Many things is not exactly the explanation I had in mind." Harry didn't say anything. It felt as if Dimitree did not want to talk about it. Harry, however, had not survived as long as he had by not asking questions. It was a bit like poking a snake with a stick, he had to admit, dangerous, but you want to see what will happen if you do it again, and again. Until the snake bites you, came a little voice in his head, but he ignored it. Maybe if he phrased the question in a different way, he would be able to get the answers he wanted. That, however, seemed to not be needed at all. Dimitree answered his question.

"Uncle Lucius invited me for the school year. In fact, he had it arranged that I would spend the year in Hogwarts as an exchange student." At the next words, his eyes narrowed. "He seemed convinced that our families can become very close and useful to each other. I have to say, I disagree." Harry couldn't help himself. He knew he should probably drop the subject, since it seemed it was more personal than he thought, but something in Dimitree's words had caught his attention. From what he could gather, the elder Malfoy wanted him hear so they could turn him to Voldemort's side and use his family's power.

"Why?" He asked and almost missed the flash that went through Dimitree's eyes.

"Unlike what the Malfoys believe, there is nothing that they can offer us, that we do not already have. Being here, however, has its advantages, so a chance like that couldn't be passed that easily." He didn't even give Harry time to think about what he had just said when his face changed from intense to almost playful. "So, how does one get sorted into houses? I've heard the strangest things, but I think the rumors get mixed when traveling across the continent." Dimitree grinned. Harry felt the confusion from earlier come back. Not as strong, but there all the same. He tried his best to catch up with the subject and the now constant questions being fired at him. It was obvious, the other subject was ruthlessly dropped and since largest question had been answered, Harry decided to leave it be for now. Besides, he thought, he had known only one person that could speak as fast as the Bulgarian was doing, and that was Hermione. An uneasy image of Dimitree and Hermione dragging him, like a prisoner, towards the library and chaining him to a table crossed his mind, but he ignored it. Focusing his attention, instead, to some of the questions that he could catch into the accented jumble of words, Harry started answering.

By the time Harry had finished all of his sweets and all the questions had stopped, night had fallen. Harry knew that if it was night, they were close to the castle. Cleaning up the mess of candy and chocolate wrappers, he got up and started reaching for his trunk while advising Dimitree to put on his robes.

Not long after they had dressed, the train started slowing down. Harry headed towards the door, Dimitree following him. Opening the door, he could see students, lined in front of the compartments waiting for the train to stop. A shudder ran through his body and Harry closed the door. If there was one thing, Harry was sure he wouldn't be able to handle right now, it was a crowd of people, all moving together and bumping into each other. After a deep breath to calm his nerves, he turned around to find Dimitree looking at him like he was reading him.

"Lets wait for the crowd to clear." Harry said, in what he hoped was a nonchalant way and sat back down. Dimitree didn't comment but sat across from him, his face blank and his eyes staring into space, as if he was in deep thought.

A few minutes after the train had stopped, Harry was convinced that the hallway should be clear so he got up to leave, once again. Before he could reach the door, Dimitree beat him to it.

"Let me." He said without turning around and opened the door. Harry couldn't see anything past him and was a bit grateful. Ever since his uncle's beatings, Harry couldn't really bare be touched by someone he wasn't close to. In other words, if it wasn't Ron or Hermione, Harry knew he would probably tense up and if he was being touched while unaware, he would freak out the way he had done earlier. He didn't understand it, really. It wasn't the pain of the beatings, he had been under the cruciatus, after all. He didn't understand it but that did not stop it from happening. Just like he had practiced with hiding his scars, he had practiced slipping just out of reach from people.

Stepping out, Dimitree turned. His face was once again blank.

"Hall is clear." And without waiting for his response, he headed out. Harry fallowed him and was once again grateful, this time for the questions that Dimitree was obviously keeping to himself.

Once outside, Harry led Dimitree towards the carriages. The first years seemed to be gone and most of the rest were already in the air, being pulled by what seemed like magic. Harry knew better. The thestralls had seemed terrifying in the beginning of fifth year, but now, he saw the same gentleness in them that Hagrid and even Luna saw. Glancing at Dimitree, he couldn't figure out if he could see them or not. If he could, then this wasn't the first time he had seen them since there was no emotion on his face.

Looking through the carriages, Harry noticed Neville, Luna, and Ginny heading towards a carriage at the end. Leading the way after them, Harry had to admit that they were becoming good friends of his. While a bit weird, they were all stronger than they appeared and more accepting than the rest of the school's population. He felt comfortable around them.

"Neville, Luna, Ginny." Harry called out and waved when they turned. Neville grinned shyly, once he and Dimitree had caught up. Luna glanced at them, nodding to Dimitree, and continued reading her paper, which was obviously The Quibbler. Ginny smiled confidently at Harry and spotting Dimitree seemed a bit confused but shrugged and got into the carriage.

Once inside the carriage, Harry introduced Dimitree to the group. Neville blushed at the mention of Dimitree's last name and didn't look up for the rest of the trip. Luna didn't even glance up, but said her name, in her airy voice, and kept reading for the rest of the trip. Ginny seemed interested in Dimitree, but as it turned out from her questions, it wasn't exactly him that she was interested in, but the Quidditch players he knew and the teams he rooted for. Half way through the trip it got clear that Dimitree was, in fact, not as a big Quidditch fan as Ginny thought he was and the subject was changed to Dimitree's home country.

Dimitree's answers were polite, but short and to the point. It was, as if, he didn't like to talk about anything concerning his family. After a few topic changes, it was clear that the only time Dimitree seemed to be interested in the conversation was when it concerned Malfoy, was about magic theory, or at the mention of the Weasely twins.

Harry had asked how they were doing and Ginny had told them about their store and how popular it was becoming. Up until then, Dimitree had just been answering questions, but at the mention of the joke shop, he started asking the questions. His questions, however, weren't very usual. Harry noticed that when other people would have asked things like, 'What kind of jokes do they make?' and 'Do they have something for escaping classes?', Dimitree asked questions like 'Do they have a sponsor?', 'How are their illusionary products?', 'Do they work with magical creatures and what kind?'. It seemed as if he wasn't as concerned with the actual jokes, but with the things Fred and George were capable of. There was one thing Sirius's death had thought him, and that was not to assume anything. Harry had to admit he wasn't particularly good at fallowing his own advises or lessons, but this time he tried his best.

Once the carriage came into the view of the castle, Harry looked straight at Dimitree, waiting for the awe that every student felt at the sight. Dimitree seemed unimpressed. For a strange reason, or strange to him, Harry felt anger bubble up. He had told Dimitree that Hogwarts was a castle but Hogwarts was so much more. It was an incredible sight. A magic, that could never have been described in words, which is why he hadn't tried. Hogwarts was home, and Dimitree's unimpressed face made him incredibly mad. He didn't understand how someone could look at all that magic and not filled with awe. Harry knew he was acting as if the castle was his, but it felt like an insult to his home.

"I have to admit, this place is so full of magic it feels as if it will burst." Dimitree's voice was as blank as his face had been on the way to the carriages. The Bulgarian's face turned towards Harry. Harry's eyes widened in surprise. Dimitree's eyes were completely black. It wasn't only the iris and pupil that were black, but the whole eye. It was, as if, he had two holes in his face instead of eyes. Dimitree blinked, and his eyes were back to normal. Harry wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him or not. If if had been something like a facial expression, Harry would have believed his eyes, but people's eyes did not suddenly turn completely black just like that.

At the steps of the castle, the group was stopped by the Potions Master. Harry had been overjoyed that he wouldn't have to deal with Snape until, at least, the next day, but it seemed like his joy was premature.

Snape didn't look at Harry. In fact, he didn't even acknowledge his existence. Instead his eyes narrowed at Dimitree, who seemed unfazed by the 'great bat', as Harry thought of Snape, and instead just nodded in acknowledgment.

"Mr. Zahariev." The tone Snape spoke the name in had many things attached to it, but Harry could not understand what they were. Dimitree did not seem to have that trouble, however, because he moved towards the professor.

"See you later." Were his last words before he and the potions master were gone. The confusion was rearing its ugly head again, Luna, however, cleared it up with the word 'sorting'. Harry wanted to smack himself. Neville smiled and Ginny grinned. Why hadn't he thought of that, and instead had to wait for Luna, of all people, to fill him in. Today had been an exhausting day, he decided and headed towards the direction of the great hall, his friends fallowing.


	3. Chapter 3: Ah, my lovely fork!

**Never Again 3 – Pre Beta (since I don't have one)**

**Discamer:** Ok, I know it's been like what, a year, since I updated and I have no excuse. I swear, I suck! Also, every time I read the first two chapters, I felt like stabbing myself. It is SO BAD! And I really don't think I can finish this story with the type of writing that I prefer to write in, for some reason this fic just gets bad writing out of me. So, I have given up. It is either write badly and finish the monster, or not bother at all and stop. I have to say that I really want to finish the idea so it will finally, after 4 years, get out of my damn head. If it comes out badly, then so be it.

Don't ask me when I get the rest, I don't know. It might be a weak before the next chapter, a month, or even several months. Hopefully I will be able to write more when I am in Russia since I will most likely not have Internet and this will be my only connection to English. For those that didn't read my disclaimer for the whole story, this is sixth year, book 6 + 7 didn't happen. I am not putting it in AU because I started writing this before 6 and 7.

I am actively looking for a beta, not only for this story but for the rest of mine. This one only is also acceptable. I have no betas right now and if I get more than one offer, you guys will all be "hired" grins. Also, if I have a beta, especially a pushy one, I might even start updating more often. The deadlines and all that. So, please, please, please BE MY BETA?

Ok, enjoy.

**Chapter 3: "Ah, my lovely fork!"**

_Two stabs, no three! Maybe I can use Crab for cover..._

Draco lovingly stroked his fork while glaring at his obnoxious cousin. He had been quickly sorted into Slytherin, which was not really any surprise, and was now seated between Pansy and Zabini, both fawning on him, right beside Crab who was sitting to Draco's right.

_Two weeks? Maybe three. The detention will be completely worth it!_

His cousin was ignoring him, of course, but that was nothing new. He was not really responding to Pansy's constant chatter either, but seemed to be staring across the table to the Griffindors. Draco's brow furrowed, his hand going up to straighten his face. It would not do, after all, for him to look anything but uninterested. A quick look informed him that Potter was not looking back but was instead staring towards the Headtable.

Draco meant to observe the teachers for only a moment but the sight of the new addition to the table made his moment turn into several longer ones until he was blatantly staring at her. It wasn't her wide grin, which was weird in itself since she was chattering to the potions master who was obviously irritated, nor the wide hand movements accompanying her speech that seemed to pass through the glass and plates in front of her, for how could those movements not have connected with anything, he did not know. It was her hair, skin, and clothes. Her hair and clothes were changing colors so fast, that by the time he decided what color it was, it had already changed. Her skin seemed to be sparkling and hurt his eyes, a bit. No, he was wrong, it wasn't her skin, but the fine hairs on her skin, which seemed to behave the same way as her hair had, that caused the illusion.

Even though the switch of colors started giving him a headache, Draco couldn't look away. He was mesmerized. He didn't know when the teacher had come in, since she hadn't been there at the very beginning or at Dimitree's sorting, but he knew that he hadn't noticed her, and neither had most of the Great Hall. At this though, Draco turned his head, with great difficulty since he could hardly look away from something that magnificent. That is when he also noticed that there were only whispers shared among the students and all their eyes were turned towards the new teacher. All, except his cousin's, who was still staring at the Griffindorks.

A second stare separated the changing colors from the teacher's features, and Draco couldn't help but snort and roll his eyes. It was a matter of course that the woman using something as flashy as this one seemed to to attract attention would not be beautiful or stunning but just average looking. There was nothing special about the way she looked, if someone didn't count the colors. She had a straight nose, high cheekbones, but not too high, and everything about her made her look incredibly ordinary and average to the point of blending in effortlessly to the memory of all other faces Draco had seen around the hall moments ago.

The Headmaster's movement seemed to signal the colorful teacher and she not only stopped babbling to Snape, who at this point looked murderous to Draco, but toned down her colors until they changed much slower and were not as distracting.

"I am sad to say that while we had more than two sortings to get to tonight, the young lady will be a bit late so while we wait, I would like to introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Professor Montgomery." At this, Montgomery waved and her grin got even wider, if that was even possible.

Before Dumbledore could continue, though, the great hall doors opened, with a loud sound, and through came a cloaked, short, and very feminine figure. There was a shocked silence in the Great Hall and Draco could clearly hear the clang of chains with every step that the girl took.

"Ah, you made it." Came Dumbledore's excited voice and Draco glanced at him for a second before his gaze moved to the new teacher, who's ever-changing colors had slowed down even more, and finally to the new girl.

She was very graceful, her body swaying with her movements and after a moment Draco was convinced that the chains, which had seemed to make too loud of a noise, were clinging in a rhythm better associated with music. He couldn't see her face, of course, since her hood was too deep. So deep, in fact, that Draco couldn't help but wonder how she could see where she was going. He could remember being a child and stealing into his father's rooms to steal a hooded cloak. The hood had been deep enough to hide his face completely but he couldn't see past his own feet. The girl, however, seemed as if she had no trouble at all, her strides confident if a bit short. When she reached half way through the tables, Dumbledore started speaking again.

"I'd like to introduce Diedre Summers. She is a student from the Americas and she will be joining us for this school year." The girl was almost to the sorting chair and hat. Draco looked around once again and saw everyone's eyes fallowing the stranger, including his cousin's. It felt a bit strange to be looking at the same mesmerized faces for the second time in the matter of minutes but Draco ignored the feeling and concentrated back on the girl, who was now seated on the sorting chair with McGonagal beside her holding the hat, just as her arms moved up and her hands came out of their sleeves. The arms were covered in black, fingerless gloves, obviously expensive dragon hide, that stretched well under the cloak. The tips of her fingers were the only ones exposed, the gloves seemed to be cut off right at the first knuckle of every finger, and her skin was translucently white.

The hood came down slowly and the mostly quiet room burst with sound. The quiet whispers at her entrance were now full blown talk. There was a good reason for it, Draco had to admit. It was not only her skin that was incredibly pale, but her hair was as white as Dumbledore's. It was short, a bob-like haircut, with long bangs that extended to her shoulders. She seemed to have a heavy amount of piercings in her ears and what looked like a snake of chains on her throat. Her lips were full and brightly red, as if she had been biting them for a long time. Her eyes were closed for a moment but then, slowly, they opened and the sound in the room became even louder. There were several gasps from his own table and Draco wasn't sure if one of them was not him. He hoped not. Her eyes were dark red. A second later, Draco had to admit he was wrong. They were not in fact red, but such a deep brown that at the light of the candles right over her they had seemed red. She was beautiful in a striking and a bit dangerous way.

The girl was staring straight ahead, when McGonagal put the hat on her head, and her hands were sitting calmly in her lap. The average amount for the hat to choose the house for the student under it was 30-40 seconds. Draco was, of course, proud to say that it had taken it only two seconds to choose his own house. This time, however, the hat seemed to be standing still and mute for longer than ever before. After about a minute, the hall started quieting down. It seemed that the hat had trouble deciding and it became obvious fast that whoever got the new student will be getting someone special. Draco wrinkled his nose. There were more than enough "special" people in the school and the idea of one more idiot pushing for attention discussed him. It's not like they deserved it, like he did. They didn't work for it, like he did, and neither were they born into it. _ They just didn't die ONCE and suddenly the whole school was at his feet._ His thought was interrupted by the hat's movement. After 3 minutes of complete silence, the hat was finally going to give its decision. The hall was completely quiet.

"Griffindor." There was a subdued cheer from the Griffindor table and polite claps from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Draco's table was the only one not making any sound. That is, until a loud clap sounded from his right and Draco felt anger gripping his body at his cousin's insult and at the claps from his own friends that followed his cousin's.

The girl, Draco could not remember her name, didn't seem to notice her "welcome", however. She had put her hood back on and was heading towards the Griffindor table. It seemed strange, however, that instead of sitting in one of the several empty spaces made for her, she kept walking further and further down the table, until she passed it all together and was out the door and into the hallway in much less time than it had taken her to get to the chair from the door. There was a pause in all sound and then the outraged cries of the Griffindors could be matched only by the laughter coming from the Slytherin table.

Draco felt like his sides would split from laughter, by the time the Headmaster intervened. He could not have dreamed of a better way to dis all Griffindors and not get in trouble.

"That is enough." The voice boomed through the hall and the students quieted down, with the exception of the Weasley twins who were still yelling on the top of their voices. Something about a "re-do" and "honor" was all Draco could catch before their voices disappeared and their still moving mouths made them look like fish out of water. At the loss of their voices and their still moving mouths, the twins didn't seem to even look at eachother but started "pretending" to be screaming and then, grabbing their throats, dying. There were several giggles and snickers from the Griffindor and Hufflepuff tables and at the end of their act, the twins jumped up, bowed show-like, and through body signs were able to convey that they would be here all weak.

"Thank you boys." Came Dumbledore's amused snicker. "Now please, do not be offended, dear Griffindors. Miss Summers has a special condition that does not allow her to interact with a lot of people at a time. That is why she will most likely not be present for most meals and will have her own rooms in a different part of the castle than your wonderful tower." Halfway through the noise had resumed but this time consisted mainly of grumbles and mentions of "special treatment". Draco grinned to himself. As a prefect, he had his own room so he did not care if anyone else did.

At the end of his speech, the Headmaster had clapped his hands and the feast had appeared. Draco was NOT hungry. Especially with the giggles that had now resumed from Pansy's side of the table. Suddenly, Draco's fork seemed once again the most useful, and beautiful, tool he owned at the moment.

_Lets make it four stabs._ He decided. The new teacher and student completely forgotten.


	4. Chapter 4: Bring it on!

**Never Again 4 – Pre Beta (since I don't have one)**

**Disclamer:** Don't own. Don't have a beta(no one has volunteered). I write when the mood strikes me, which so far has turned into one chapter every six months...sorry guys.

Anyway, please forgive my misspelling or any mistakes I make. And yes I know this story is a bit on the over-used side...ok, maybe more than a little but I need it gone. Out of my head and finished. Hopefully it will be done some day. Technically I have 22 chapters plotted out and even then the story will not be done but since my chapters are rarely over 5 pages it shouldn't be too long. I am in the middle of writing chapter 5 so that will most likely be posted soon after 4. After that I have no idea. Thanks for sticking with me, for those of you that have, and sorry if you have to wait for a while for this to be finished, to everyone. Once again, if I had a beta I would have a better chance of writing. Yes, I know, not a very subtle hint. Lol Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: "Bring it on!"**

Harry wasn't particularly excited about being back in potions. Really, he had been convinced that he would be able to escape that class, with the not perfect grades and all that. He shouldn't have hoped at all, of course, with Dumbledore as a headmaster. That man did as he liked whether he liked it or not. Harry should really had gotten used to it by now but, really, two days after his potions class he was still mad about it. The fact that no one from the other years, or houses, would tell him, or anyone else, how the Defense teacher was when they had her, rubbed him in the wrong place as well. Dimitree had made the mood better at one point the day before when they were approached by Malfoy and Dimitree had blown him off, once again.

The good mood didn't last long, however, when he had gotten in a fight with Ron over his hanging out with the foreign boy. Jealousy didn't sit well with Ron, Harry knew, so he didn't put it much against him, but Ron wasn't speaking to him which really made him spend even more time with the Bulgarian. The rest of the Griffindor's didn't seem to mind, really. They had seen the confrontation from the day before and while they considered Dimitree something of an anomaly, they found it amusing. Or so they had told him.

On his third day of classes, Harry was finally able to obtain an opinion about the new teacher several hours before he had the class himself. The twins had jokingly mentioned that they should hire Montgomery when they got their joke shop running. Harry wasn't exactly sure what that meant but he thought that at least it meant that the twins approved of her.

At lunch, things had gotten tense again when Dimitree had, very casually, sat beside him to eat. Ron had left his food untouched and left the hall as fast as he could. Hermione had just given them an apologizing look and had run off after her new boyfriend. The Griffindor's didn't seem too comfortable until the twins tried to pull a prank on the Bulgarian and he had turned it on them. It seemed that anyone who could make the twins have to walk around all day covered in canary feathers got the good graces of the rest of the Griffindors and was allowed to eat with them. Harry wasn't too sure how Dimitree had done it, but the result was, he had to admit, pretty funny. The twins, of course, took it gracefully even though they publicly, and laughingly, declared war. Dimitree had just smiled and told them to "Bring it on!" That had scared Harry a bit. He really didn't want to get in the middle of the crossfire but he thought he could risk it, especially now when his friendship with his best friends was so strained.

When he walked into DADA class, fallowed closely by Dimitree who seemed to tag along everywhere he went, Harry was surprised to see that his teacher looked incredibly normal. That is, more normal than she had looked at the head table. He hair was a mousy brown and Harry thought that everything about her seemed to be a non-threatening, normal, brown. Her clothes were no exception. There were no flashing colors at all. That is, until Dimitree entered behind him. The teacher's head snapped up and suddenly her hair and eyes seemed to flash to completely white and after a second went back to the boring brown. Harry wasn't sure what that meant and Dimitree had just seemed to stare back at the teacher until Harry decided to ask if there was anything wrong. He opened his mouth but before he could ask, Dimitree was moving towards one of the front desks as if nothing had happened. A look at the teacher told Harry that she was back to being absorbed by the piece of parchment in her hands. Dimitree was in the middle of taking out his book and writing utensils by the time Harry snapped out of it and sat beside him. He wasn't sure what was going on and decided to ask after class.

Harry forgot all about talking to Dimitree about his reaction in the beginning of the class by the time class was over. If there was one thing he had to say about the new teacher it was "Don't get on her bad side!". In fact, he thought he should probably stay away from her all together.

The class had started with her introducing herself in a quiet voice that made all of them sit up and forward to hear her better. She had explained that she planned a mostly practical class for them after the first two weeks when they would be writing and defining things as a way of catching up. Harry hadn't been too excited about the idea of nothing but writing for two weeks but since she planned on having mostly practical after that he had to admit she was definitely better than Umbridge. Then again, mostly everyone was better than Umbridge. Even Quirrel, having Voldemort sticking out the back of his head at the time, was better than Umbridge.

Montgomery had seemed pretty nice until halfway though class when one of the Slytherins, after a half an hour of copying definitions off the board, had whispered, pretty loudly, something negative about Dumbledore. Harry had expected it to be either ignored or for points to be deducted. What he hadn't expected was for their teacher to explode, turn completely red, her hair, clothes, and eyes, and order the Slytherin out of her classroom. After the Slytherin had rushed out, dropping his bag halfway through and coming back to get it, they had all been warned to never insult anyone, and especially not the headmaster, in her class. Harry had to admit, the scare tactic had been pretty successful. There had been no negative comments from any of the houses for the rest of the class. He had, however, spend the rest of the period incredibly tense. When the teacher had exploded, his wand was in his hand ready to hex her and he had spend the rest of the period holding it in his left hand, under his table, ready to react if the need came even though after he outburst, she was back to the brown.

At the end of class, Harry was ready to be one of the first to leave. That, however, didn't happen when the professor called out to him and asked him to stay so she could talk to him. Harry had slumped in his seat, waiting for everyone to leave before he would approach the professor's desk. On his way out, Dimitree had shot him look and had pointed at the door. Harry assumed it meant that he would be waiting outside for him.

"Mr. Potter," started the teacher when everyone was out of the classroom and Harry had finally approached her desk, "I appreciate that you are ready to protect your classmates, but I would appreciate it even more if you didn't spend the whole of my period with your wand in your hand ready to hex me." Harry was stumped. "Off you go." She said and turned to the parchment she had been obsessing over all period. Before Harry could say anything in return, the professor had looked up and given him a confused look, as if to say "You're still here?". Harry left.

Dimitree had been outside, waiting for him, but when Harry came out, still confused and he had to admit a bit spooked, Dimitree didn't ask him anything. He just grabbed Harry at the shoulder and dragged him away towards the Library, it being a free period they both had. By the time they reached the Library, Harry was finally able to talk but all he said was:

"She's weird!" at which Dimitree had laughed, earning himself a nasty look from Mrs. Pince, and had continued stirring the Griffindor to a table towards the back of the library. It was good table, Harry had to admit. He could see the doors but he thought it doubtful that someone just coming in would be able to see him right away. The rest of the day was spend in doing homework, which Dimitree seemed to think should be done the same day it was given to them and Harry, missing Hermione a bit, went along with his wishes and started on his "Magical Creatures I know of" essay for the professor whose classroom he had just left. She had wanted to know what kind of creatures they all knew, most likely to know what she should cover. While Harry thought her confusing and creepy, he still thought that the essay he was writing was a good idea for the class. Having, somewhat, thought a DADA class, of a sort, he recognized good methods of teaching others his age.

Dimitree didn't say much the whole time they were in the Library. He seemed really absorbed in his work and while Harry was curious to get his opinion on Montgomery, he knew that if the boy was anything like Hermione about studying, he wouldn't appreciate being interrupted. Especially not in the library.

Dinner time came pretty fast and Harry was surprised to see that his mandatory three feet parchment essay had turned out to be about two times the required length.

"You got a bit excited about that class, didn't you?" Dimitree seemed amused.

"What about yours, then?" asked Harry, expecting the same answer that would come out of Hermione. Dimitree reminded him a lot of her, except for the fact that he didn't seem to care much about the rules and he was a boy with green hair.

"It's exactly three feet." He said a bit too proudly, Harry thought, and then showed him the homework he had finished for the rest of his classes. Harry was a bit amazed. They were all the exact length that was supposed to be the minimum.

"For someone who likes doing his homework right away and does a lot of research on it," at which point he pointed towards the load of books on Dimitree's side of the table, "you sure like to do the bare minimum." The Bulgarian boy just smiled, satisfied, and without saying anything back got up to return his books. Every time Harry thought he had figured him out, the Slytherin did something else to completely throw him off.

While heading to the great hall for dinner, Harry tried to get some kind of explanation from Dimitree about his homework but all he was able to get out was that Dimitree didn't want to write more than he could get away with. That still didn't explain all the research he had done for the little he wrote but those were all the answers Harry could get out of him. In fact, getting answers out of Dimitree about anything at all was like squeezing water out of a stone. Practically impossible. In a way it seemed like he had a REALLY short attention span always changing the topic. Even if it was a topic he himself had introduced, Harry could have been in the middle of saying something about it and Dimitree would interrupt him and change the topic again. It was like he just couldn't keep up with him. Several times he wasn't even sure what exactly they were talking about or whether they were talking about the same thing.

Once they got to the Great Hall, Harry didn't really expect a repeat of lunch, but Dimitree didn't even hesitate to fallow him to the Griffindor table. They were stopped halfway there by Snape.

"Mr. Zahariev, you would do well to sit at your own table at dinnertime. While I can not change your choice of friends, I would appreciate it if you do not embarrass your house mates." His piercing gaze was not fixed on Dimitree, through his speech, but rather was on Harry. It seemed accusatory, as if it was all Harry's fault that Dimitree preferred to sit with the Griffindor's than the Slytherins. Then again, Harry wasn't really surprised that he was being blamed. As far as Snape was concerned, Harry was always the one at fault.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, professor." Dimitree's voice was dripping with amusement and satisfaction. "They embarrass themselves all on their own." Harry nudged Dimitree. Snape looked like he was about to hex them but Dimitree seemed oblivious and continued. "Why, Davis got himself kicked out of Defense Against the Dark Arts today. I don't think I can do much better than that, don't you think?" Harry was waiting for the steam to start pouring out of Snape nostrils. He looked like an enraged dragon. Maybe the fire will be soon to fallow the smoke. Instead of answering, however, Snape turned sharply around, his robes snapping in the air, and headed towards the Slytherin table. Harry was really glad it wasn't him that would be on the end of that anger. Dimitree smirked, once again reminding Harry that he was related to Malfoy. No one smirked the way Malfoy did. Dimitree came the closest so far.

"I have to go, sorry." Was all that his companion said and headed towards the table he was supposed to sit at, a slight bounce in his step. Harry was ready to swear that Dimitree was trying to piss off Snape on purpose, but who would be that stupid?

~*~*~

Draco had missed lunch. Really, it was on purpose since he knew that his cousin would just ruin his appetite, he hadn't eaten almost anything in the last few days. So at lunch, instead of submitting to the torture, he decided to visit the kitchens. There, at least, he could order exactly what he wanted. As long as he didn't happen on his old house elf. Dibbi or something. He was in luck and came in on some of the regular house elves. After an exquisite meal, Draco headed towards his DADA class. As it had become usual, in the classes that his cousin and the Griffindork shared, they were sitting together. Draco tried his best to ignore them. He really didn't want a repeat of the day before in front of even more audience. He was still sore over the inbreeding comment coming from his pureblood cousin. Davis's expulsion from the class didn't help matters and the rumors about the Slytherin sitting with the Golden Boy made his mood bad enough that by dinnertime he was back to wishing his father would have just forgotten that they were related to the Zaharievs. Either that or that Dimitree had fallen in a hole and died on the way to Brittan. Even better, splinched himself to the point that he would never have been able to leave the hospital bed again.

Draco prided himself on being well informed, being able to understand people and know how to manipulate them and he knew exactly why his cousin was, at dinner, trying to go sit with the Griffindors. He wanted to piss off Draco. That was all there was to it. He had to admit, however, that getting Snape off his back by sicking him on Davis was smart and very Slytherin. There had, of course, never been a question of whether or not Dimitree was a Slytherin. The question was more of what can one do not to get in his bad graces, if they weren't Draco, and what can he do to piss him off back, if it WAS Draco. He had brainstormed for the last few days and nothing had come out of it. The insulting Potter strategy had backfired yesterday so now he was back at square one, that is, until he heard a first year Slytherin admire his cousin and his boldness and then he had it. The best way to piss off his cousin and this time he knew it will not fail.

With the new plan on mind, Draco enjoyed every bite of his dinner. Even when dinner was over and Dimitree blatantly headed towards Potter, Draco's good mood did not waver. He had been in such a bad mood the last few days that now he enjoyed every moment of the horrible mood he knew his cousin will be in. And the best part was, he would never come in contact with him for it and it was completely fallowing the rules, so there will be no detention for him. It was perfect!


	5. Chapter 5: Letters from Hogwarts and Ov

**Never Again 5 – Pre Beta (since I don't have one)**

**Disclamer:** Don't own. Don't have a beta(no one has volunteered). I write when the mood strikes me, which so far has turned into one chapter every six months...sorry guys. Well, really last one was the same day but that doesn't count! Lol

Anyway, please forgive my misspelling or any mistakes I make. I am still looking for a beta so if you even wanted to try being one, here is your chance!

This chapter is a bit short. Every few chapters I will have one with a letter in it so it will be shorter than the rest and it will always be posted with the chapter before that. So, hey, two chapters in one day! Enjoy!

**Chapter 5: Letters from Hogwarts and Overgrown Rats**

September 6th

Mother,

I am doing as well as the circumstances could provide. As you might already have heard, my cousin is proving to be a bit harder to crack, his friendship with Potter being part of it. In fact, I am pretty sure that there are some things he really doesn't care to choose between. I still hold to the thought that it was a bad idea to invite him here but that was father's decision and I will support him as far as he wishes me to.

We have a new DADA teacher by the name of Montgomery. She is a bit mysterious and her moods change as fast as a dragon's temper. Supposedly, she is from the Americas. I wonder how she got the job from that fool of a headmaster.

Professor Snape is back to teaching Potions and it seems that Potter was granted access to the class even though I am completely sure that he did not pass with the needed grades.

I am studying hard and will be starting training for Quidditch next week. This year I have been moved to a captain. The first match will be Ravenclaw vs Griffindor and we will play the Ravenclaw's after that.

I hope you are doing well.

Your son,

Draco L. Malfoy

~*~*~

Harry was having a pretty normal day. As normal as the last few had been, really. It being Saturday, he didn't really plan that many things to do today. The weather was nice and he planned on taking his broom and flying for a bit before Quidditch training officially started.

Harry slept in a bit later than usual and by the time he made it to the Great Hall, it was lunch time. It didn't really matter. He had already told Dimitree that he was going to be flying today and his two best friends weren't talking to him. Really, it was just Ron that wasn't talking to him and avoiding him. Hermione was being sneaky about talking to him, not very effectively, but she tried for Ron's sake. It was obvious they all knew she was talking to him but they all pretended for Ron, including Ron himself. Harry thought that Ron knew very well what he was doing was silly and childish but left him to it.

It wasn't that bad, really. He missed joking with Ron and having someone that he connected on a level that didn't contain any confusion but it also meant that Ron didn't notice the fact that Harry never got up when everyone else did. He was either really early up and dressed, or he was late. Ron was also not noticing things like where Harry spend his free time, or when he really went to bed. In fact, Ron ignoring him was proving partially a blessing. If he had noticed everything that was different about the way Harry behaved, he would have mentioned it to Hermione and then the questions would start. He didn't want to answer questions. Dimitree was good at sensing that. He didn't give any answers either so in a way it was fair, even if it frustrated Harry to no end. He didn't like mysteries. Mysteries were dangerous and could kill you. Dimitree was a mystery to him and Harry was ready to resolve it someday if he had to hunt down Malfoy and get information out of him to do it then so it be. Fat chance of getting anything out of Malfoy, of course, but it was a thought. At lunch, since he was mostly late for that as well, there weren't a lot of people hanging around. Most of them were lazing around their common rooms, enjoying the first weekend after the first week of classes.

On his way out of the castle's doors, Harry thought that the ones that weren't in their common rooms were most likely by the lake. There seemed to be quite a few people there, all in little groups.

It was sunny, if a bit chilly. Harry wore a long sleeve mostly because he knew that the wind would cut through him if he flew and because he had been wearing only long sleeves since he came back to Hogwarts. Long sleeves hid scars better than anything else.

Harry was half way to the pitch when he heard his name being called. Turning around, Harry was confused for a minute. There was a tall boy with long, dark brown, hair running towards him. The Slytherin tie he was wearing made Harry tense and wait for an attack. He didn't know why a Slytherin would approach him alone. They usually moved in packs. He also called him by first name and that was strange as well. It took the Griffindor a moment to figure out that it was no other than Dimitree. Harry relaxed and then burst out laughing right as Dimitree caught up with him.

"Your hair!" he was able to wheeze between his laughter.

"I know!" Snapped Dimitree. "I look like an overgrown rat!" That send Harry sprawling on the ground laughing and holding his stomach.

"Hurts!" he tried to get out while still laughing hard enough that it seemed he wasn't breathing at all.

"It's not THAT funny!" Dimitree was not only snapping at him but he looked ready to hex him.

"'tis too!" came the wheeze from the ground.

"Snape decided that wearing," and here Dimitree took on the voice of Snape "freakish hair makes my house look like a circus! I will not have clowns in Slytherin house unless it is their heads on the walls!" Through out the whole impression, he was flipping his hand back and forwards and swishing his cloak with his left hand. Harry felt like his stomach would split and he started coughing since he hadn't been able to breath for more than a several seconds.

It took Harry another 15 minutes to calm down enough to be able to listen to Dimitree's rant without laughing. The hair was a pretty normal color now and from Dimitree himself, Harry learned that it is his natural color. Apparently he had been dying it since he was 12. His father had found it amusing and let him do as he wished. It seemed it was just a way of getting attention, to Harry, and so far he had figured out that Dimitree liked to be in the spotlight. Snape had threatened with lots of detention and he had to make it look normal again. It didn't really match Dimitree. Maybe it was the fact that the whole week he had known him, the foreigner had always had that dark green hair. The brown seemed too normal for him. It was like meeting a magical creature and hanging out with them for a week and then one day they show up and they look like a human. Suddenly they become a bit more boring.

The feeling didn't last long, of course. Even when he was ready with answers for his hair, Dimitree still refused to speak about his family or give him answers about anything that wasn't happening at the moment. After half an hour Harry gave up, took up his broom from the bleachers beside him, where they had moved to talk, and after showing Dimitree where he can find a school broom, he took flight.

Dimitree seemed like a pretty decent flier. He refused, however, to race to compete in any way. He claimed to find Quidditch interesting but he even refused a makeshift game.

He likes being in the spotlight, but he doesn't like showing off, decided Harry. It was like he liked pissing people off, so far only Malfoy and Snape that he knew of, but he didn't like showing anyone up. Dimitree had a very strange sense of honor is all Harry could come up with. It didn't matter for long, of course. Harry was flying for the first time in three months and he as definitely happy. Here, in the air, nothing mattered. A few glances told him that Dimitree was flying calmly through the air but his moving lips and frown told him that he was still pissed.

"I guess Snape decided to get back at him." decided Harry and then he was back in his bliss made of air.

~*~*~

Draco was having a great day. His plot had turned out to be brilliant. Most likely his cousin didn't even suspect him. Why should he, really, it wasn't him that told him he had to dye his hair. Snape had done all the dirty work and all Draco had had to do was mention it to his head of house while he was having tea in his office and discussing extra projects he would be doing during the semester. It seemed that Snape hated the Zahariev as much as Draco did. Not that he said it, of course, but right after Draco left his office, Snape hunted down Dimitree, who happened to be in the common room and told him, in no certain terms, that he was a clown and a freak and had made him change. The best part was, Draco had been there to see it all. Including Dimitree's face. If there was one thing, that Draco knew of, that Dimitree treasured and was proud of almost as much as his family it was his hair and the strange colors he picked every year.

The first time Dimitree had shown up at their door with bright pink hair, Lucius had almost had a heart attack. He had been in a meeting with Dimitree's father and when Dimitree had not only barged in on them but had dyed his hair a color that Lucius would kill Draco before he lets him out of the house to shame their family with. He had been about to reprimand him when Dimitree's father had congratulated his son on his new color of choice and had continued his side of the meeting without another thought to his son's hair or the fact that he had barged in as if he owned the place. Lucius had been furious for days taking it out on the house elves and on Draco himself. Now, it was payback time.

"The next one will be better." murmured Draco satisfied and headed outside to enjoy his day in the sun.


	6. Chapter 6: Normal Wizards

**Never Again 6 – Pre Beta (since I don't have one)**

**Disclamer:** Don't own. Don't have a beta(no one has volunteered). I write when the mood strikes me, which so far has turned into one chapter every six months...sorry guys. Well, really last one was the same day but that doesn't count! Lol

Anyway, please forgive my misspelling or any mistakes I make. I am still looking for a beta so if you even wanted to try being one, here is your chance!

I wrote the last two chapters in one day and I have to say I am a bit surprised by myself. I mean, it usually takes me 6 months to write the next chapter. That is, it takes me 6 months to be in the mood to write. 2 chapters in one day is impressive for me. The fact that I am starting this chapter on the same day is kinda scary even though I am not finishing it on the same day. Lol Look out, guys, I am on a writing high. Lol Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Normal Wizards **

September 20th

Dear mom and dad,

I am ok and I am alive, I promise. I am sending this through Headmaster Dumbledore with the transatlantic mail, which by the way costs waaaay too much. Why couldn't we live in Britain like normal wizards? Seriously guys!

So far the school is a bit different than I imagined. Not by much, mind you. It's bigger than I thought it would be and much prettier. There are way more people here than I thought there would be but the Headmaster was kind enough to give me my own section of one of the towers. It's secluded and gives me space and the chance to unwind and, you know, let out some steam.

So far my training has payed off. You can let Lin know that I am ok and tell her I say thanks. Yes, I AM keeping up with it. I kind of have to if I don't want to kill someone by accident. The chains have helped. People so far are ignoring me, which as we know is a good thing so I have been good and fallowing orders. Aunt Tracy, on the other hand has been showing off. All of the first week, she was scaring the magic out of all of her students. In my class she even turned red and kicked one of the students out. Everyone is terrified of her, if the gossip in the hallways after the first week are anything to go by. It has worked in her favor somewhat, I have to admit. Everyone is actually doing their work which compared to the rest of the classes I have with them, some of them have real trouble doing as they are told.

There are too many walls here. Too much stone. I kind of wish I was back home, sometimes. I didn't think I would ever miss our land and woods as much as I do now. It's not too bad, of course, since they have the Forbidden Forest here and that helps. Don't worry. I am pretty sure when Dumbledore warned everyone to stay away from it, he didn't really mean me. I mean, I doubt there is anything there scarier than me. Tell Lin to stop rolling her eyes! It's true and she knows it! Besides, the centaurs have been pretty nice so far. I visited them twice. They even showed me the power nod. You have to admit, that's pretty awesome! One of them even offered to teach me some of their language as long as I did a favor for him. Don't worry it's not too dangerous. Nothing more dangerous that I do at home on regular basis. Yes, I know this is not very reassuring but it is all I can tell you. I will be fine. Lin can probably guess what it is.

My lessons are going well. The Headmaster signed me up for the Care of Magical Creatures which seemed that it would be a boring class but I have to admit, the teacher, who is a half giant, sure knows how to make a class like that interesting. We are not doing boring things like taking care of flobberworms, like I thought. Instead, so far we have covered Ashwinders, Glumbumbles and next week we are doing Jobberknolls. I heard some of the other students say that he loves dangerous creatures. I think Dumbledore has a strange sense of humor.

Speaking of the Headmaster's sense of humor, he has informed me that tomorrow, Saturday, I am to attend dinner in the Great Hall. As he put it at our tea yesterday, I am isolating myself too much and need some human contact. It's like he is asking for trouble. So tomorrow, whether I like it or not, I am to sit on a long table in a room full of couple of hundred people and behave myself. His words, not mine. Like it's just acting out, yeah right. Why did I come here again? Oh yeah, because I had to. Damn. Sometimes I hate Great Aunt Elizabeth.

By the way, can you ask Aunt Tracy to PLEASE tone it down? I tried to talk to her about it but she ignored me. I am afraid she will scare someone into trying to hex her and she'll end up hurting them. I know she loves her illusions, but there has to be a limit!

Anyway, tell Lin I love her and tell Jeff I will be back at some point. I hope. Who knows why I was send here. Hopefully he won't be too upset. I love you and if I don't come home soon all of you have to come visit me.

Miss you and love you,

Diedre

~*~*~

Harry was late for dinner. He wasn't the only one, of course, since Dimitree seemed to fallow him everywhere. The last two weeks had proven that as mysterious as Dimitree was, he was a good distraction from the fact that he had no other friends at the moment. Seamus, Dean, Neville and everyone else was still talking to him, of course, they had no problem with the "reformed Slytherin" as they called him but he missed Ron and Hermione. At the door of the Great Hall, Harry and Dimitree separated heading towards their own tables. Harry headed towards the middle of the table,his usual spot, but stopped a bit confused at the first few seats. There was a girl sitting there. A girl that he now remembered to be in his house, or supposedly was in his house. He remembered her walking out after being sorted and Dumbledore saying that she would be living by herself. That was the last time he had seen her. He was sure she hadn't been in any of his classes, which seemed very impossible, and he had never before seen her in the Great Hall.

The girl was wearing a school cloak and black gloves that covered her hands and extended down her arms until they disappeared in her cloak. Her appearance was as jarring as it had been that first day at the castle, with her white braided hair and pale skin.

Harry was sure he hadn't stared at her for more than a few seconds but she seemed to sense it and turned around, piercing him with her almost reddish eyes. She didn't say a world, and Harry had to admit she seemed a bit creepy. It seemed everyone else felt it as well, leaving the seats around and in front of her empty. The girl looked a bit distraught and nervous as well, he hands making strange, tiny, gestures in front of her. Harry felt silly after a while, just staring at her and in a way she reminded him of himself when he first came here. Everyone kept staring at him, he didn't really had friends having met Ron only a few hours before and still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and everything had seemed strange to him. Without giving it a second thought, Harry sat to her left.

"I'm Harry." he said, extending his hand. The girl's hands paused in her gesturing but instead of shaking his hand in greeting, she just nodded and turned to his meal, ignoring him as if their staring contest had never happened. Harry recognized the hint and turned to his own empty plate, ignoring the not quite whispers over the new development.

After 15 minutes, Harry was almost done eating. He had gotten used to the silence from his meal companion and almost jumped when she unexpectedly spoke.

"Diedre." Her voice was quiet and almost friendly but not quite. Harry felt himself grin. It seemed she **could **speak and most likely he was the first one she had spoken to, if everyone else's reaction to her was anything to go by.

"Do we have any classes together?" it was a bit funny, really. He didn't want to talk much with other people but he couldn't stop being curious about this girl. Maybe it was because she didn't talk almost at all and the fact that they had been in the school for 2 weeks and this was the first time since the sorting that he saw her . If they did have classes together, and they must have since she was supposed to be in his year, then she was able to go unnoticed by everyone and in a way that was a skill that Harry would have really liked to learn.

"Almost all of them." She murmured and Harry felt triumph and confusion battle for the features of his face. How does one ask a person how they can be so different and unnoticeable at the same time without offending them. He didn't have much time to thing on it, however, when Dimitree grabbed his attention by sitting to the right of Diedre. He leaned in front of her, his hair almost falling into her food, and was just about to say something to Harry when he stopped and stared at her.

She was leaning away from him, as if afraid he would touch her and she looked about ready to fall off of her seat. Dimitree stared at her and she stared back. Harry felt as if there was a very important conversation going on that he was not privy to.

"Um..." The both ignored him. Dimitree was very concentrated at his stare and Diedre seemed uneasy and was avoiding looking at his face.

"Um.." Repeated Harry, at a loss as to what to say. This time there was a reaction, only it was not one Harry expected.

"Excuse me." Was all Dimitree said, his accent stronger than Harry had ever heard it and without even glancing at Harry, he headed out of the Great Hall, very much in a hurry. Harry glanced at Diedre but she was as hard to read as Dimitree when his background was brought up. Within seconds, Diedre was back to paying attention only to her dinner, as if nothing had happened. Apparently the conversation was over.

~*~*~

The next day was a Sunday and Harry made sure he was at breakfast early, ready to corner Dimitree if he had to and ask him what was going on. Dimitree, however, did not show up all through breakfast. Lunch and dinner also passed without him.

Monday morning Harry was ready to burst with anger. Dimitree was obviously avoiding him and that pissed him off. He had been the one that kept pushing their friendship and now he suddenly avoided even thought Harry was sure he hadn't done anything at all. It couldn't be the girl since they both new that she didn't come to meals, usually and Sunday was proof of that. When Dimitree didn't show up for any of the classes they shared or any of the other meals, Harry anger turned into worry. Dimitree might have been avoiding him but he also cared about his classes even if he obviously pretended he didn't.

Monday became Tuesday then Wednesday, Thursday and Dimitree was still gone. There was no one he could ask about it. Harry didn't talk to the Slytherins, for obvious reasons, and Ron and Hermione were still avoiding him. Really, he was avoiding them after Ron's comment about Death Eaters and evil Bulgarians on Tuesday. Diedre seemed to be avoiding him as well.

He noticed her, now that he knew she must be there. She always sat in the back, never participating in class and except for the DADA teacher, all the professors seemed to look right over her, as if she didn't exist. The DADA teacher acknowledged her every class with a nod and the first time when she caught him looking, she gave him a very disconcerning smile. After class, if Harry tried to catch her and talk to her, Diedre would be out of the classroom at the speed of light and by the time he reached the door she would have disappeared in the hallways.

By Friday, Harry was worried, but he was also back to being angry. Ron had made another horrible comment the night before and at breakfast the Daily Prophet had brought the news of a raid. There were five dead, a family of muggles, and three aurors in Saint Mungo's. Ron's comments had gotten worse and Harry really didn't want to hear it. It was bad enough that his only friend now was gone without a trace, which he was still angry about the least he could have done was tell him he is going, but now people were suspecting him in Death Eater raids and through him Harry as well. He was back to being pointed at and whispered about as if he was in league with the person who killed all the family he had.

When Dimitree showed up for their first class, Potions, Harry punched him. He didn't mean to really. It just kind of happened. He had been seething over Ron's unending comments and the fact that he was too hard headed to notice that all of his comments were turning people against Harry as well as against Dimitree. When Dimitree had shown up, Harry was so sick of it that he stomped up to him ready to demand an explanation and didn't realize what he was doing until his punch was connecting with Dimitree's face. Harry was small, and thin, but he knew how to through a punch. One had to learn surviving skills like that if one was growing up with Dudley as a cousin. Dimitree didn't fall, or fly backwards, the way Harry had seen people do in the few movies he had seen. Instead he made a few steps backward and touching his nose with his right hand he came away with blood. Within seconds he had used his wand to fix it and was staring at Harry in consideration. Harry was frozen with shock. He had been angry but he didn't think he had been angry enough to wish to hurt one of his friends.

"Detention Mr. Potter and 30 points from Gryffindor for fighting in my classroom." The voice was a good wake up call for Harry. "I would suggest you find a different way to resolve your disagreements that doesn't involve hitting my students." The ugly sneer made Harry's anger make a reappearance but a glance at the look Dimitree was giving him, which wasn't a bad one just blank, was enough to make the anger turn into shame.

"I'm sorry professor." He murmured and turned to go back to his table. Snape, however, didn't seem satisfied.

"It is not only me you should be apologizing to you imbecile, it's not my nose you broke." The words were spat at him but Harry could also detect a cruel humor behind the words as well. Maybe he thought Harry would be even more embarrassed by having to apologize to a Slytherin. Turning around he tried to look as sincere as possible.

"Sorry, Dimitree." He hadn't really meant it, hitting him that is. At least he didn't think he had meant it. The anger had been so blinding that it was like he had lost several moments to it and couldn't remember exactly why he had been angry enough to punch him. Dimitree nodded at him, accepting his apology and then headed past him to their table. Harry fallowed but was still able to hear Snape's snort of contempt.

Once class started, Harry tried to apologize again but Dimitree waved it away. He didn't say anything through out the whole class but Harry didn't feel a horrible as he had since Dimitree didn't look mad. Then again, he didn't look like his mind was on what he was doing at all. He looked so far away that Harry had no idea how he was able to work at their potion at the same time. In fact, by the end of the class, Harry was sure there was something wrong his punch just wasn't part of it. Their potion was perfect. So perfect, in fact, that even Hermione was impressed. Usually their potions were mediocre and Dimitree was paying full attention at those times. Now, only barely paying attention not to cut his fingers off, their potion was so perfect that Snape accused them of cheating. He had no proof, of course, but he didn't really need any. He refused to give them grades for the class, claiming that after the almost useless potions they had done until now there was no way for them to make a perfect one without help. Harry had been furious, even though he partially agreed it was weird, while Dimitree hadn't payed attention to that either. He had just nodded and said that they will try again at detention. Dimitree had walked them right into Snape's claws, which of course had made Snape as smug as can be. Two detentions for Harry in one class and one of them he couldn't even blame solely on Snape.

After class, Harry decided enough was enough. He was going to ask Dimitree to wait while everyone was gone so they could talk but he seemed in the mind of doing exactly that so Harry didn't say anything. When everyone was gone and Snape looked ready to gut them, Harry headed out, fallowed by Dimitree. Outside the door, he almost bumped into Diedre.

"Sorry." He said for the umpteenth time today and was about to drag Dimitree away by the elbow for their conversation when he stopped. Dimitree was again staring at Diedre and then with more grace that Harry had seen in a guy, he dropped on both of his knees, presenting his open hands to Diedre. There was a white crystal in them, or at least it looked a bit like crystal only not as clear and about two inches in diameter. His head was bowed and his hair was hiding his face. He didn't say anything, just stood on his knees, presenting her with the crystal. Harry was confused, but Diedre didn't seemed to be. In fact, she looked pissed. Turning around in fury she started down the hall, the sound of chains hitting each other and echoing off the stone walls. She hadn't gotten very far when Dimitree spoke and looking over Harry saw him still on his knees with his head no longer bowed but turned in her direction. He had a sneer on his face that matched the sneer in his voice.

"This one you have no choice but to accept. The third one you can choose whether to accept but this is out of your hands for now." He seemed very sure of himself, the arrogance that hadn't been present minutes before was now surrounding him like a cloak. Diedre had stopped at his voice and after he was done speaking she was stomping back to them the chains that she obviously wore, but made no sign of under her cloak, were once again echoing in the hallway. She snatched the crystal off Dimitree's hands once she reached him and then turned and stomped off back in the direction she had been heading earlier. Dimitree got up off his knees looking smug and headed after her in a slow and very relaxed pace, as if he had the rest of the day to get to their next lesson.

"What just happened?" Dimitree ignored him and Harry, taking a few longer and faster steps, stopped in front of him, blocking his way. "Dimitree, what did you just do, why were you gone all week and what in the bloody hell was that on Saturday?!" He was angry again and again it caught him off guard. Was he getting angrier easier than he used to, or was he just imagining things?

"On Saturday I remembered something I had to do." He was back to being arrogant but this time there was also disdain in his voice. His eyes accusing Harry, of what he was not yet sure. "This past week I was doing it and today was the result. I don't ask you questions, don't ask ME questions." Apparently the disdain was for Harry himself. In a way he knew he deserved it, really, it was true that he didn't want to be asked questions but seemed to demand them of Dimitree. Taking a deep breath to stop the new wave of unreasonable anger that he could feel coming on, Harry stepped aside.

"Sorry." And again the shame was back, turning all the anger into humiliation. "You're right." Looking up, he saw Dimitree had already started walking past him but his face no longer showed the disdain, only indifference.

"Forget about it." And that, it seemed, was that. For the rest of the day it was like Dimitree was never gone. The teachers did not make any comment about his absence, Diedre was avoiding them even more now than when Harry was alone, and Ron was back to keeping his mouth shut, in front of them at least. The whispers and suspicion only seemed to get stronger with Dimitree's return right after the raid. Dumbledore, however, seemed perfectly in peace with Dimitree's mysterious disappearance so Harry assumed he knew about it and whatever had happened, the two were not connected. He had realized, however, that whatever was the reason for the disappearing act, it had something to do with Diedre. He wasn't going to ask any more question of him, since he didn't want to answer any. That, however, didn't mean that he wouldn't try to find out what was going on by himself. For the first time, the mystery did not involve him directly and he was more inclined to spend time on it without worrying for his own safety. He will found out what the deal was, of that he was completely sure, he was somewhat experienced in solving mysteries and finding out secrets, after all.

~*~*~


End file.
